THE WHAT? Construction has begun on a smart operations hub in China for French beauty behemoth L’Oréal, according to a report published by Yicai Global. The center is designed to improve warehousing and logistics efficiency in the region.

THE DETAILS Based at Suzhou Industrial Park, the intelligent center will be operational by Q4 2023 and will feature automated sorting systems and robotic devices, reducing the time spent preparing packages for e-commerce and tripling D2C capacity by 2025.

THE WHY? Fabrice Megarbane, President North Asia Zone and CEO of L’Oréal China, told Yicai Global that the investment was proof of the French beauty giant’s strong confidence in the Chinese market.